“Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.” (2 Timothy 2:16-18)
Paul continues to warn Timothy not to let mere words get in the way of the Word, God’s truth in the Bible. First he cautioned against making words too important and arguing over them. Now he warns of treating them too lightly and spouting meaningless, destructive nonsense about biblical truth.
The NIV here calls it “godless chatter.” The ESV interprets the Greek as “irreverent babble.” The NASB: “worldly and empty chatter.” The New King James: “shun profane and idle babblings.” In every case, the result of a career of texting/talking/typing worthless words is to become less and less like our Father.
Why? Because your faith will often follow your words. Paul reminds Timothy of two men who liked to fill the air with worthless chat and ended up believing it and convincing others it was true. Don’t dabble in babble—in giving voice to worthless ideas.
Think: Have you ever seen nonsense talk about serious things turn into something really destructive? How can we avoid that?
Pray: Ask God to help you to recognize godless chatter and to avoid participating in it.
Do: Look for examples this week of what might be considered godless chatter—especially about biblical truth.